Metro Briefing | New York: Hempstead: Priest Charged With Theft

A priest accused of skimming $86,000 from collection baskets at the St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church in Bethpage over two decades was charged with grand larceny yesterday. The priest, the Rev. John F. Johnston, 64, of Jackson Heights, Queens, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Nassau County First District Court here. He was already in jail on charges of illegally possessing a .38-caliber pistol and of aggravated harassment for telephone calls made to a Catholic school in Brooklyn. Nassau County police officers arrested him on the larceny charges after investigators found bags of cash his apartment. Bruce Lambert (NYT)